aid compared with thine,
and how implicitly I count on thee, I have openly told thee what a wilier
plotter would have concealed--viz., the danger to which thy brother is
menaced in his own earldom. To the point, then, I pass at once. I
might, as my ransomed captive, detain thee here, until, without thee, I
had won my English throne, and I know that thou alone couldst obstruct my
just claims, or interfere with the King's will, by which that appanage
will be left to me. Nevertheless, I unbosom myself to thee, and would
owe my crown solely to thine aid. I pass on to treat with thee, dear
Harold, not as lord with vassal, but as prince with prince. On thy part,
thou shalt hold for me the castle of Dover, to yield to my fleet when the
hour comes; thou shalt aid me in peace, and through thy National Witan,
to succeed to Edward, by whose laws I will reign in all things
conformably with the English rites, habits, and decrees. A stronger king
to guard England from the Dane, and a more practised head to improve her
prosperity, I am vain eno' to say thou wilt not find in Christendom. On
my part, I offer to thee my fairest daughter, Adeliza, to whom thou shalt
be straightway betrothed: thine own young unwedded sister, Thyra, thou
shalt give to one of my greatest barons: all the lands, dignities, and
possessions thou holdest now, thou shalt still retain; and if, as I
suspect, thy brother Tostig cannot keep his vast principality north the
Humber, it shall pass to thee. Whatever else thou canst demand in
guarantee of my love and gratitude, or so to confirm thy power that thou
shalt rule over thy countships as free and as powerful as the great
Counts of Provence or Anjou reign in France over theirs, subject only to
the mere form of holding in fief to the Suzerain, as I, stormy subject,
hold Normandy under Philip of France,--shall be given to thee. In truth,
there will be two kings in England, though in name but one. And far from
losing by the death of Edward, thou shalt gain by the subjection of every
meaner rival, and the cordial love of thy grateful William.--Splendour of
God, Earl, thou keepest me long for thine answer!"

"What thou offerest," said the Earl, fortifying himself with the
resolution of the previous night, and compressing his lips, livid with
rage, "is beyond my deserts, and all that the greatest chief under
royalty could desire. But England is not Edward's to leave, nor mine to
give: its throne rests with the W